Capps admits preliminary Cubs talks

Orioles, Marlins, Cardinals among others interested in reliever

CHICAGO -- Now that the Cubs have gotten rid of Milton Bradley, could free-agent reliever Matt Capps be on his way to the North Side?

Capps, who spoke on Saturday on "Talkin' Baseball" with Bruce Levine and Jonathan Hood, said there have already been preliminary discussions with the Cubs about joining the team. One of Capps' former Pirate teammates, reliever Tom Gorzelanny, came to the Cubs last season in a trade that also brought the Cubs former Pirate John Grabow.

"We have to see what the opportunity is going to be for me on the team, and then everything else with my agent and the teams, they can talk about the other stuff," Capps said. "Like I talked about before, I want to be in a winning environment, and I want to see what the best opportunity is for me personally and the best opportunity for the team to win is, and we'll go from there. There's just as good a chance of me being a Cub as being anybody else. "

Capps pitched last year for the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA and 27 saves, putting him in the 10th spot for saves in the National League. In addition to the Cubs, the right-hander is said to be drawing interest from the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Marlins, Orioles and Nationals. Capps' 2009 salary was reported to be $2.4 million.

Capps noted that there was a comfort factor for his family in coming to Chicago, as his wife and Grabow's and Gorzelanny's wives, are good friends.